Friends welcome to celebrate 50th birthday with Folsom Zoo Sanctuary

All party animals welcome as Folsom Zoo Friends host a birthday party.

The Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary is turning 50 and is hosting a party with a slate of special activities to celebrate the big day.

✔ Outreach animals will be on hand to meet and great✔ Root “bear” float refreshments, courtesy of the Friends✔ Face painting✔ Party games✔ Sing and dance-along entertainment with Music Mike✔ Animal displays with fun artifacts

Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary is located in the heart of Folsom adjacent to Lions Park at 403 Stafford St. Operating since 1963, the zoo sanctuary is a place where nearly 100 animals make their homes. And it’s a place where most will live out their lives, having been injured, rescued, survived being a laboratory subject, performed in the entertainment industry or been carelessly bred.

Some residents at the zoo sanctuary have made headlines upon their arrival, including two tigers, Misty and Pouncer.

The two arrived at Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary nearly 10 years ago. They are cross breeds – Bengal and Siberian for Misty and Sumatran and Siberian for Pouncer – a genetic rarity given the geographic distance between the three habitats.

It was during a raid on a Southern California property that touted itself as Tiger Rescue for retired circus and entertainment animals in 2003 that the two were found, each just months old.

The abuse was clear: Misty was trapped in a 3 x 3 cage, starved and covered with mange; Pouncer was tied on a 4-foot tether, also starved and diseased.

And that’s not all: state officials found Tiger Rescue proprietors were hiding 9 tiger and 2 leopard cubs in the attic, 58 cub carcasses in a freezer, and 30 big cat corpses on the property. Two alligators were found in the bathtub while another 54 tigers, leopards and lions were found at a different site. Retirement plus research, they said.

The Fund for Animals rehabilitated and relocated the animals as none could be released to the wild. The Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary was one of six to welcome these big cats, Roberta Ratcliff, a zoo spokesperson said in a prior interview.

Open since 1963, the zoo sanctuary became famous for welcoming “The Folsom bears” Tahoe and Sequoia in the late 1990s.

Sequoia’s origins are a mystery. He was dropped off as a cub at a rescue center near Tulare. He came up to Folsom in 1998. Tahoe was part of a family in trouble near Lake Tahoe. The mama was seen limping along the road with her two cubs. Soon, the cubs were found begging for food, alone. The siblings were rescued and rehabilitated and Tahoe joined the family at Folsom.

The Folsom Zoo Friends are hosting the party on October 5th. The fun begins at 10 a.m. and lasts until 4 p.m.

Dress for the occasion: come in your favorite party hat!

Don’t be shy about bringing a gift: wrapped gifts will be accepted by everyone’s favorite party mascot, Holiday Lights, prior to the event opening.

For further information, see www.folsomzoofriends.org.

Murphy

Murphy is a special needs dog with a chronic condition called megaesophagus. He needs a special feeding regimen so that his food heads down the right tube. Usually dogs like Murphy don’t like past age 4!

Cabi

Cabi was dropped off mysteriously at a city shelter and has been getting healthy and strong acting as the office mascot. He is reading for his forever home!

Pouncer the tiger

Pouncer enjoys a snack while basking in the sun on a lazy Monday morning. The Friends raised $4,000 in the first years Misty and Pouncer were in Folsom to build a tiger enclosure, complete with a water feature.

Amigo

This pup was born at a shelter and is healthy, happy and strong. Shelter staff say he is waiting to meet a forever family! Call ahead for appointment times and hours.

Buddy

Buddy is one of the oldest residents at A Windsong Animal Sanctuary, a neighboring animal community. Above, he takes some sun, while waiting for some of his favorite friends, the horses, to come back from a ride.